Abram A. Millar was born in Eden, Texas (Concho County) in 1923. He passed away in September 2006, at age 83, in San Angelo and was buried on the Millar Ranch in Eden in the ranch cemetery. He served in the Army Air Forces during WWII, received the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the air over Germany during a bombing mission and was also decorated for gallantry in action, receiving the Silver Star for having saved his badly damaged aircraft from destruction on that same mission. This is his story. Abe was the son of Abraham Millar and Cora Tisdale Millar and he grew up in Eden, going through Live Oak School there and then graduating from High School in Eldorado (Sleicher...
Patriot Stories from the United States Air Force
CLYDE S. CARMAN
Clyde S. Carman was born in Schenectady, New York in 1924. His family lived in Saugerties when he was in grade school and then moved to Poughkeepsie where he was a senior in High School when America was attacked at Pearl Harbor. He enlisted as soon as he turned eighteen, signing up with the understanding that he would not be called to active duty until after graduation in the Spring of 1942. However, he reported, as ordered, to the induction station in New York City and was sworn in on April 28, 1942, less than two weeks before the rest of his class graduated at Poughkeepsie High School without him. Clyde went through basic and advanced individual training in Miami, Florida....
CARL H. KLEIN
Carl H. Klein was born in 1919 in Seton Hospital in Austin, Texas. His family lived in Creedmoor until, when Carl was eight, they moved into Austin where his father was employed by the city utility department. Carl graduated from Austin High School in 1937 and then took courses at Nixon-Clay Commercial College. He worked for the legislative service of the Chamber of Commerce until drafted, and then was inducted into the Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas on June 20, 1941. For the next two years, four months, Carl went through training at Fort Sam Houston and Camp Wolters in Texas, and at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin. He was a Medic assigned to 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry, 2nd Infantry...
HOWARD M. McKINNEY
Howard McKinney was born in Fort Worth in 1945. He spent his early childhood in Granbury, Texas and then the family moved to Stephenville when he was in elementary school. Howard graduated from Tarleton State University in Stephenville in May 1967 with a B.S. degree in Mathematics and Physics. As an ROTC graduate, Howard was commissioned Second Lieutenant, Infantry, and entered active duty in October 1967. After training in Fort Benning, GA and Fort Polk, LA, Howard was ordered to Vietnam, arriving in country September 1968. He was initially assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry (Wolfhounds), 25th Infantry Division, in DAU TIENG. Following an emergency leave in...
PATRICK M. REILLY
This Marine Corps veteran was severely wounded during the opening hours of TET-68 as his unit fought to hold a key river bridge on Highway 1. He sustained shapnel wounds in both arms and both legs with resulting loss of use of his right leg, and in the years following he devoted great effort to developing ways for the VA to improve prosthetic services to veterans. Patrick is also a charter member who helped create Chapter 1919. Patrick Reilly was born in 1948 in Oklahoma City and he was widely traveled during his growing-up years, variously living in Bermuda, Florida, the Philippines, Arizona, and Alaska, as well as Texas. He entered service in the Marine Corps, went through...
JAMES M. INKS
This B-24 Navigator, shot down over German occupied Yugoslavia when returning from a bombing raid to Ploesti, Romania joined up with General Mihailovichs Chetniks and kept detailed notes on the experience. When he published his book in 1954, EIGHT BAILED OUT, it made the best seller list, the book of the month club, and sent Jim all over the nation on book signings and guest appearances on the talk shows, including an interview on the Dave Garroway show. James M. Inks was born in Llano, Texas in 1921. His father, Roy Banford Inks was the Ford Dealer and the Mayor of Llano. As the Mayor he devoted much time in helping to create the Lower Colorado River Authority. His...
RUFUS DYE, JR.
This is a fighter pilots story, shot down behind enemy lines, parachuted into the middle of a major German withdrawal, and pedaled to safety by a French boy on his bicycle. In WWII, Lieutenant Rufus Dye was a 9th Air Force fighter pilot in the 392nd Squadron, 367th Fighter Group. The 392nd was a squadron of P-38 Lightnings that normally flew missions of Bomber Escort, Armed Reconnaissance, Interdiction, or Close Air Support. On the evening of September 8, 1944 his unit had been ordered to do something unusual, that was to conduct a very late in the day raid into Germany. Normally the 367th Fighter Group was a daylight operations unit. The squadron bombed a rail marshalling...
JOHN STAVAST – AIR FORCE – WWII
John is a veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. His experiences could fill a book, but, this article will only detail one very moving experience that he had in France with the infantry in WWII, and a few facts about his nearly 6 years as a POW during the war in Vietnam. Much additional information can be found about him on the internet and from numerous books about Vietnam POWs. Our immediate Past Chapter Commander, John E. Stavast passed away Sunday, July 4, 2004. John Stavast was born in Denver in 1926. His family had moved to Pueblo, Colorado and he was attending high school when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program, entering active duty March 20, 1944....